


Lydia 2.0

by GothicDeetz



Category: Beetlejuice - Perfect/Brown & King
Genre: Alternate Universe, And Allow Betelgeuse to Come and Go if He Pleases, But They Find a Way to Bring Her Back, Character Death, Contracts, Curses, Dead People, Death, Demon Deals, Demons, F/M, Feels, Freedom, Gen, Ghosts, Happy Ending, Loss, Lydia Dies Briefly, M/M, Mind Control, Multi, Rebirth, Resurrection, Reunited and It Feels So Good, Rituals, Sad, Sad with a Happy Ending, Tags Contain Spoilers, Temporary Character Death, Tissue Warning, Title changed because I thought “Lydia 2.0” would work better, Trapped, Warnings May Change
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:21:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 13,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26464099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GothicDeetz/pseuds/GothicDeetz
Summary: Betelgeuse was supposed to go back to the Netherworld after bidding farewell to the Maitland-Deetzes, he wasn't supposed to be stuck - his soul trapped - in the house forever. To free himself from the curse his mother unleashed on him before her demise, he's going to have to strike another deal with Lydia, as she's the only one who can set his soul free - but at what cost?Lydia dies giving up her soul, is resurrected, and reborn to the Maitland-Deetzes in a second life. Still a teenager, Lydia 2.0 and her family face challenges that they never expected to befall them.Formerly known as “The Soul Contract” and “The Ties That Bind”.
Relationships: Adam Maitland/Barbara Maitland, Beetlejuice & Charles Deetz & Delia Deetz & Lydia Deetz & Adam Maitland & Barbara Maitland, Beetlejuice & Lydia Deetz, Charles Deetz/Delia Deetz
Comments: 5
Kudos: 7





	1. Soul Stuck

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: This story’s going to be sad then gradually get better and happier as it goes along, so be prepared for some feels and tears as you read along.
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated. :).

Betelgeuse wasn't supposed to be trapped in the walls of that house forever, his soul bound there for eternity. He was supposed to go back to the Netherworld to go on a vision quest after bidding farewell to the Maitland-Deetzes.

But, instead of going through the chalk outlined door with a green glow like he originally thought was going to happen when he was lifted up by his clones and set down in front of it, he hit what felt like a barrier, whilst his clones went through with no problem, and fell backwards onto the floor with a soundless thud, promptly blacking out.

The Maitland-Deetzes stopped what they were doing to stare at the shocking scene in front of them, the cleaning supplies they had been holding clattering to the floor as their eyes widened and their jaws were slack. The grown ups were all angry but showed the same level of concern as the teenager Lydia as she kneeled down to make sure the demon who had once been her best friend was okay.

With one hand extended out in front of her and brushing some strands of hair out of the demon's eyes, Lydia quietly whispered, "Beej, are you okay?"

All the adults - both dead and alive - made concerned noises as they moved towards the two of them as Betelgeuse let out a pained noise in response to the teenager's question, that meant he'd come to. While their minds were telling them to stay away from Betelgeuse as a result of all the trouble he had just caused them, that wasn't going to stop them from making sure he was okay like Lydia was currently doing.

"We need to get him somewhere," Barbara said as Lydia stood and helped their enemy demon up and moved him over towards the couch. Could he even be considered an enemy of theirs at this point? Sure he had done some bad things but his current situation was concerning.

"But he caused trouble for us! Is it right to let him stay?" pointed out Adam. Barbara thought for a moment. Lydia covered Betelgeuse with a blanket and moved to rejoin her family.

"But you saw what happened to him when he tried to go back to the Netherworld. It was like some sort of protective barrier was barring him entry into the Netherworld. We could look through the Handbook for answers but that thing's dangerous. I don't ever want to touch that thing again."

"The Handbook might be helpful though. It won't hurt to actually take a look through it this time. We can just skip the part where it says 'All ghosts must proceed directly to the Netherworld' and the part where it says to 'Draw a door and knock three times'."

"Adam-." Barbara was cut off by Adam covering her mouth with his hand. She stopped talking and smiled at him when he removed it. She turned to Lydia. "Lyds, can you take him up to your room? The rest of us need to discuss what to do about this situation."

"Already doing it!" Lydia shouted as she helped Betelgeuse, still wrapped in the blanket, up and practically dragged him up the stairs with a huge grin on her face.

Once upstairs, she sat him down onto her bed and pulled up a wheely chair to sit across from him. Originally, she wasn't expecting anything bad to happen but now...?

He didn't want to talk or strike up any conversation with the teenager, his gaze off to the side as most of the strands of his hair turned a bright Blue. Lydia was getting worried for her "best friend", moving to sit next to him and resting a hand on his back.

"Beej?" she started and he shifted a little, his attention still focused away from her. "Bj, I just want to talk. Are you okay? What happened?"

He bit his lip as he thought up a response, at the same time thinking about why he could not go back to the Netherworld. Had his mother cursed him? No! He made sure to get rid of her via Sandworm before anything could happen. Unless... His gaze flickered to Lydia, who was gazing up at him with concern, her arms now wrapped around his neck, and sighed.

"I don't know what happened," he admitted, making Lydia smile. "I should have gone back to the Netherworld like I said but something must have happened and even I don't know what it is. If I'm stuck here, that's a problem. I hope that's not the case."

Lydia glanced down then looked back up at Betelgeuse. "It would be a problem if you are stuck here. But you've got us to help you out."

"But everyone else in this house is angry at me for everything I did." A single tear escaped Betelgeuse's eye as he wrapped a multitude of arms around Lydia's body. "I don't know if my actions can be forgiven."

“They’ll forgive you no matter what.” Lydia took Betelgeuse’s hands in her own and his hair changed to a light shade of Blue (she hadn’t even realized his hair had gone from a bright Blue to a Violet/Plum shade, she must have not been paying attention to it). “Give them time. I know they will.”

Betelgeuse didn’t know what to say, instead opting to nod in response to the teenager’s statement.

“We’ll help you figure out everything that’s happened,” Lydia continued, “from figuring out why you were denied entry to the Netherworld by that invisible barrier to whether or not this whole thing is a curse from your mom before you unleashed that Sandworm of yours onto her.”

“No!” he shouted suddenly, startling Lydia. He realized what he’d done and quieted his voice to a whisper. “What I mean to say is, I don’t think this whole being denied entry into the Netherworld being a curse by my mom is the truth, Scarecrow. Do you have any other ideas or explanations?”

“No. I’m afraid that’s all I have.”

“Lyds!” he teased, beginning to playfully chase the teen around her bedroom with a pillow in his hands. She chuckled, diving under some pillows that had somehow appeared in the middle of her bedroom for some unknown reason (she’d ask him later).

“Oh! You want to start a pillow fight, do you?” She popped an arm out the top of the pillow pile and chucked a pillow she’d grabbed at him.

He ducked and smirked, summoning pillows and throwing them at the pile of pillows that Lydia was hiding in and causing her to giggle as she burst from the pile.

They were having so much fun and acting as if their friendship wasn’t ever broken in the first place that they forgot all about the situation at hand.


	2. In Two Minds

Lydia and Betelgeuse's goofing off was cut short by a few frantic knocks on the door. As Betelgeuse poofed away the pillows, Lydia turned to her door.

"Come in!" she called out.

Barbara and Adam, the Handbook clutched in the latter's hands, floated in through the door whilst Charles and Delia opened it and walked in. Barbara and Adam sat on Lydia's bed and motioned for the teenager to sit in between them, Betelgeuse moved off to the side, and Charles and Delia stood in front of them.

"Did you guys need to talk to us about something?" asked Lydia, curiously.

All four adults nodded in unison and Adam flipped open the Handbook to the bookmarked section, beginning to read it. "Some souls may be barred from entering the Netherworld if they do something wrong, while others may be cursed and unable to enter. Betelgeuse do you think your mom cursed you when she showed up to try and take Lydia and Charles back to the Netherworld for breaking a rule?"

"No." The demon shook his head. "My mom's already cursed me once." When the family looked confused, he clarified, "with the whole 'I'm unable to say my name thing'. Do you guys want to hear that story?"

"Maybe later," said Barbara. She continued on from where Adam left off, "If someone who wants to go to the Netherworld can't go to the Netherworld because of an invisible barrier, a living person close to them must give up their soul to set them free. And that's only if the living person can see them." The whole family gasped when Barbara finished reading that part of the paragraph.

"NO WAY IS SHE GIVING UP HER SOUL TO ALLOW BETELGEUSE ACCESS BACK TO THE NETHERWORLD!" shouted Charles out of rage. "I WON'T ALLOW IT! NOT AFTER LOSING EMILY! I CAN'T LOSE HER TOO!"

"Charles, calm down. We can talk this over." Delia took her fiancé's hands in her own as she turned to look at the Maitlands. "Surely there's a way we can do that without losing Lydia. If she doesn't want to do it, then Betelgeuse is stuck unable to go back to the Netherworld for the rest of eternity."

"I'm afraid there isn't," said Barbara, looking down at the Handbook.

"Then I have to do it!" Lydia suddenly said, shocking all the adults. "I'll be fine," she said in an attempt to calm them down, frowning slightly when nothing seemed to happen.

"But, Lydia," Barbara complained, pulling the teen close to her for a hug. "Adam and I only just met you and you're giving up on life that easily?"

"I have to do this, Barb." Lydia wrapped her arms around the ghost to return her hug. "If you find a resurrection spell in the Handbook, you can copy it onto a piece of paper for my dad and Delia to read over my grave and bring me back." With her arms still wrapped around Barbara, she turned to Adam. "How do I do this? Are there any instructions?"

"Lydia, we need some time to talk this over before we make the decision over whether or not we're going to allow you to go through with this," said Adam sternly, causing the teenager to grumble something in annoyance (which Adam and the others ignored because they knew it was a bad word).

"How about we wait a day before we discuss this further. That way, we will still spend some time with you for if you do decide to go through with this. Though we will miss you terribly if you do," said Barbara, ghostly tears dripping down her and Adam's faces and regular tears dripping down Charles and Delia's face. "Isn't that a better idea?"

"It is," said Lydia, nodding. "But I feel like we should discuss this now. Remember the resurrection spell that I told you to give my dad and Delia once I do go through with this whole 'giving up my soul' thing?"

Barbara nodded sadly, saying, "I do. But it's going to be pretty sad and hard without you here to lighten the mood for a while. It's hard saying goodbye sometimes."

The others mumbled their agreement and Lydia sighed. "What are the instructions?"

"Lydia, you still need to give it time. Let's talk about it now and then you can make the decision to give up your soul," said Adam.

"Alright, fine!" grumbled Lydia, her, Adam, and Barbara moving to the center of Lydia's bed to allow Charles and Delia space to sit down as well.

"Lydia, you know I'm still against you doing this." Charles' hand phased through Adam's arm as he rested it on his daughter's shoulder. "You're my daughter, our family, and none of us ever want you to do this but if you want to, then..." He trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

“Then we support you,” finished Delia. “But like some of us said, we’re strongly against this as well and know what’s going to happen when and if you do this.”

The others nodded in unison and Lydia did the same, showing them that she was listening to them. But she had something to say on the matter herself. “Beej caused trouble for the lot of us yes, and we want him gone, so to do that, I have to do this.”

Betelgeuse opened his mouth to protest against what Lydia had said but then closed it when Barbara chose to speak.

“She’s right,” the female ghost said, directing the attention of everyone else in the room onto her. “It’s going to be sad and we’re going to miss you, but, Lydia, if you have to do this then go for it.” It was the hardest thing she had to say, a few clear ghostly tears dripping down her face.

“I’ll miss you all too,” said Lydia, tears streaming down her face as she wrapped her arms around the tearful female ghost and motioned for the rest of her family to join in on the emotional hug. Betelgeuse stayed put, deciding to let them have what would most likely be their last moments together as a found family of five. “But, like I said, please try to find a resurrection spell of some kind to bring me back to life. I won’t be dead forever and I have so much more that I want to live for. I want to grow up, graduate High School and College, go out and explore the world with a degree in photography, and start a family of my very own someday.”

“We’ll try, we promise,” Barbara spoke softly into Lydia’s shoulder.

Lydia smiled at her then turned to Betelgeuse, whose hair color was a mix of grass Green and Yellow. “You ready, buddy?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be, my spooky little friend.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Next chapter’s going to get sad, so get prepared for that.


	3. Let’s Make a Deal!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ending for this chapter was a little sad to write, and I felt a little sad just writing it. The rest of the chapters should get a little happier as the story goes on so be prepared for some more feels before then.

Lydia didn't want to do this. And looking around her bedroom, she could tell that her family had the same looks of sadness on their faces as they held onto each other and cried their hearts (beating and unbeating) out. It almost made her feel bad and upset that she was doing this. Leaving her family at such a young age, stripping her father of the only family he had left after losing Emily to Cancer, stripping the Maitlands of the loving daughter figure they had hoped for before their deaths, stripping her Life Coach, Delia, of a potential and future stepdaughter, stripping Betelgeuse of a second chance at friendship with her. It would be temporary, yes, and she didn't want to leave them behind just yet.

A thought popped into Lydia's head and tears started pouring down her face.

"Wait!" she called out, directing everyone else's attention onto her. "Maybe we should hold off on this process a little while longer. Read how the process works in the Handbook before Beej and I do go through with this. If he has a deal he wants to do, then that's fine. I don't mind. I can wait a little longer."

It seemed to brighten up her family's emotions, it seemed, as Charles and Delia now seemed a little happier at the thought of getting to spend a little bit more time with the teenager before her temporary death. The Maitlands were practically floating in midair and laughing excitedly, happy for the exact same reasons as their living adult housemates and friends. Betelgeuse smiled at Lydia, knowing the teenager meant what she did when she spoke those words. He wanted to go back to the Netherworld, yes, but he also wanted to stay here at the Maitland-Deetz house (but only if this whole thing didn't work out the way it was supposed to and Lydia was trapped in the Netherworld forever). He knew things wouldn't be the same if Lydia wasn't able to have a second chance at life, knew that the Maitlands and the Deetz couple would be devastated for the rest of time. Lydia had said something about him striking a deal with her, he had to come up with one and fast.

"I got a deal for you, Scarecrow!" he suddenly said after a few minutes of thinking to himself about all this. The rest of the family turned their heads in his direction and Betelgeuse could see clear tears in Lydia's eyes (though he couldn't tell if those were tears of joy or tears of sadness).

"What is it?" asked Lydia, curiously.

"You can give up your soul only if you and your family allows me to stay instead of going back to the Netherworld for good!" Betelgeuse smirked.

"Like that's ever gonna happen!" snapped Barbara. She stood up and stormed over towards Betelgeuse, looking angry and pointing a finger at him. Her teeth were grit and her eyes were narrowed. He backed up against a wall, his hands up in front of him. "Mister, you caused a heap of trouble for us, tricked Lydia into exorcising me, nearly forced her into a green card marriage, and tried to kill everyone to top it all off. And for all that, do you really expect us to let you stay here?"

"Uh... yes?"

"NO!!!" shouted the other three adults, proving Barbara's point.

"Deal accepted," said Lydia. "Though, you heard what my family said. You can't always stay here. You can come and go whenever you please when this is all done. How does that sound, bud?"

"Lydia, you can't be serious," said a calmer Barbara, rushing over towards and gripping the teenager's shoulders hard (even though Lydia couldn't feel that, she still flinched from the contact).

"What. Did you really want him to live with us forever or did you want him gone like you said earlier?" asked Lydia sarcastically. Barbara caught the sarcastic tone in the teenager's voice and groaned. When Barbara didn't say much of anything, Lydia continued, "it would be a lot easier for him to travel to and from the Netherworld. I can summon him here if there's an emergency or if it's a special occasion he's allowed to attend. Who knows when we're going to need him in the future."

Barbara turned to the other adults. "She has a point. What if you guys are out?" she asked Charles and Delia. "And something goes wrong like a burglar breaks into the house or a kidnapper shows up and kidnaps Lydia at a certain part during the day or the house catches on fire."

"Then you guys are powerful enough to deal with it on your own. We don't need Betelgeuse here for every little problem," spoke up Charles.

"Did you forget you're talking to newlydead ghosts?" asked Adam, looking a little confused and concerned. "We only just died and have little to no control of our own powers just quite yet. Mr. Betelgeuse, on the other hand, is a centuries old demon and has more experience using his powers than we do. He's the stronger deceased in these situations. He can handle them with a simple snap of his fingers."

"Thank you for the keen observation, Sexy," Betelgeuse spouted out from where he was standing.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" the male ghost shouted back.

"SORRY, SEXY!" shouted back Betelgeuse, sticking his tongue out at the flustered male ghost, who's face, although it couldn't be seen, was getting redder by the second. At least, that's what it felt like to him.

Adam growled softly as he threw his hands in the air before teleporting away in a flash of light.

"I'm going to make sure he's calming down," said Barbara, also teleporting away in a flash of light. She knew where he'd be at a time like this.

"We'll give them some space," sighed Delia. "Right now, we need to discuss more about the deal that Lydia and Betelgeuse just made with each other. For example, Betelgeuse, what made you come up with this deal in the first place?"

Betelgeuse shrugged and added, "Just came to me. I realized that I would just miss all of you had I actually gone back to the Netherworld so I guess that barrier is a sign that I'm supposed to stay here instead of going back. Now if you excuse me, I'd like to try and go back to the Netherworld. I'll be back for a visit in a few months time, just to let you guys all know."

Charles and Delia, knowing well, hugged Lydia for the last time in her first life, tears dripping down their faces. Lydia was also tearing up, clinging onto the both of them.

"Even though it's temporary and the end of your first life," Charles managed to say, although he was upset. "We'll miss the first you and can't wait for what's in store for us when you return in your second life. And that's only if the resurrection spell Adam and Barb are going to give us works."

"Dad! Old me's going to miss you too!" sniffled Lydia as she buried her face into her dad's chest. Delia began stroking the teenager's hair, a small sad smile on her face.

"I know, but you'll be back with us soon. You know it," said Charles, also smiling sadly.

Lydia smiled, nodded, and turned to Betelgeuse. "What's the first step to giving up my soul in the Handbook?"

"Hmm..." He sat down on the teenager's bed, picked up the Handbook, and scanned the page it was left open on. "It says the living person giving up their soul must hold hands with whoever's soul is trapped and speak a few Latin words to set them free and give up their soul."

Lydia grabbed a hold of Betelgeuse's hand and looked up at him. "Does it say what Latin words I have to say?"

“Ut animam suam liberos, non est meum dare sua,” said Betelgeuse, reading from the Handbook.

“Ut animam suam liberos, non est meum dare sua,” repeated Lydia, looking confused.

It all happened in a flash. At the exact same time, both Lydia and Betelgeuse’s eyes glowed a bright white as Charles and Delia watched on with tears in their eyes. Adam and Barbara came up the stairs and phased through Lydia’s bedroom door just as this happened, going over to stand next to Charles and Delia. An even brighter flash of light engulfed the both of them and when it disappeared, Lydia was laying on the ground still and unmoving and Betelgeuse lay on his back a few feet away from her. He groaned and sat up, watching as all four adults kneeled down next to the now temporarily deceased teenage girl and stroked her hair.

“Did it work?” he asked tiredly.

All four adults looked up at him with tear-stained faces and nodded in unison, leaving them to comfort each other and Betelgeuse to comfort them all.


	4. Ghost Uninterrupted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be prepared for a chapter full of feels.

Lydia's ghost, for some reason invisible to the eyes of her dad and stepmother, stood in the corner and watched her family comfort each other. She noticed Barbara and Adam, who seemed to have picked up her presence, look over towards her and stand up without telling the Deetzes where it was they were going. They motioned for the ghost of their daughter figure to join them in the attic. Lydia nodded and the three of them teleported up to the attic so the rest of the family wouldn't overhear their secret conversation.

Once they were in the attic, Adam used his powers to lock the door behind him as Barbara led Lydia over to a battered old couch and summoned a hot tea for her that the teenager would most likely not drink. Adam joined them just as a tote bag dropped onto the floor in front of them. Lydia picked up the second tote bag she'd received in the last week and pulled out her own Handbook.

"Don't need this," she said, tossing it aside. "We've all got a copy of this that we can all share when we're all officially recently deceased and still living together in this house decades from now."

"But still, things could change and you would know that," Adam pointed out.

"Things could change in the future, yes," replied Lydia with a giggle, Barbara giggling as well. "But you guys both know that once I come back to life and live my second life, I'll live here for good! I'm never leaving you guys! You know that."

"And that's a good thing," said Barbara with a smile, resting a hand on Lydia's shoulder (happy she could touch Lydia with her hands without having them phase through her, even though that was only going to last a short time). "We don't know what we would do if ever you move out."

"I don't know what I'd do either," Lydia chuckled. "I would miss you guys for one."

"Well, we'll be giving you lots and lots of love when you do come back to life," said Barbara as she ruffled the teenager's hair. Lydia smiled.

"And I can't wait for that," said Lydia, pulling the Maitlands into a hug. "Can't wait to start living my second life. It's crazy how much is going to change in the coming months after I come back to life."

"What's even crazier is it's going to be like a child is going to be born to us even though we're dead. Well, reborn is a better word but you get the point," laughed Adam, earning a nudge in the shoulder from a snickering Barbara. "A little sad we're not going to be there when your dad and Delia use that resurrection spell from the Handbook to bring you back to life. And please know we'll be in the attic waiting for you when you return home rebirthed."

"Adam, I'm still going to be a teenager when I'm resurrected. You know that," Lydia smiled and chuckled as she pulled away from her ghost parents. "And when that happens, just make sure to make yourselves solid because I'm going to give you guys the biggest hug you've ever gotten as ghosts."

"Well, we can't wait for that. However long it takes you to get resurrected and come back to life, we will wait. After all, the amount of time it takes for you to get resurrected will pass by quickly."

"God!" Lydia laughed. "I feel like I've been dead for weeks."

"Lyds, it's only been a few hours," came Betelgeuse's sudden voice from behind them. They turned to find Betelgeuse floating behind them and smiling. "Chuck and Debra are working on a way to revive you as we speak. They just haven't figured it out yet."

"Who told you you could be in here, DEMON!" demanded Barbara. Adam and Lydia placed their hands on her shoulders to calm her down.

"Woah, woah, Babs, calm down," said Betelgeuse with a wink. "I just tested out the theory of whether or not I could return to the Netherworld without any problem."

"And did it work?" asked Lydia, hopeful.

“Yes, duh! I popped into the Netherworld for a second then came right back. It was so funny seeing the looks on your parents’ faces.”

“A single second? You were in the Netherworld for a single second?” asked a smirking Barbara sarcastically, which Betelgeuse didn’t seem to catch.

“You sure they weren’t annoyed?” teased Lydia.

“No. They were confused!” Betelgeuse said. “Now, Lyds, are you going to spend some time in the Netherworld until your folks figure out how to properly do the resurrection spell or are you going to stay here?”

“Well, I was thinking about going to the Netherworld but I only just got back from there early this morning and that place is too dangerous!” exclaimed Lydia, looking alarmed.

The call of “Maitlands! Can you come down here!” sounded from the bottom floor of the house and the Maitlands turned to Lydia and Betelgeuse.

“It sounds like your dad and Delia seem to have figured out the resurrection spell to bring you back, Lydia,” said Adam, looking hopeful. “I’m going to miss you as a temporary ghost but like you said, you have so much to live for.”

“Adam’s right,” continued Barbara. “I’m going to miss you as a ghost too. We’re going down now to see what they want. You can come down too because I have a feeling you’re going to need to be there as a ghost in order for this spell to hopefully work.”

“One last hug with me as a teenager ghost?” asked Lydia, holding her arms out.

“One last hug with you as a teenage ghost!” chimed Adam and Barbara in unison as they wrapped their arms around the teenager.

They pulled away and Adam and Barbara phased through the floor to join Charles and Delia in the living room (where they had transferred Lydia’s body to have more space to resurrect her).

Betelgeuse turned to Lydia and noticed that she looked a little nervous. Floating over to her, he rested a hand under her chin and lifted her head upward so she was looking him in the eyes.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

“This week flew by in a flash,” Lydia spoke quietly. “First I move here with my dad and my life coach, then I end up meeting you and the Maitlands. Not to mention our brief, three-day long friendship and the fact that I almost exorcised Barbra with the Handbook instead of bringing back my mom like I originally thought. Then there’s the fact that YOU forced me into a green card marriage and- and I had to kill you.” Tears started to pour out of Lydia’s eyes.

“Hey, we’ve both made mistakes and we learned from them-,” Betelgeuse started to say before being cut off by Lydia.

“That’s easy for you to say!” snapped Lydia. “YOU hardly learned from YOUR mistakes! I learned from all mine except for killing you. That was on purpose! I had to do it to protect those I care about!”

“Hey now,” Betelgeuse said in an attempt to calm Lydia down, moving the hand he had rested under the teen’s chin to her shoulder. Lydia was getting calmer but she was still pretty much upset. “Enough with this. You want to come back to life right?”

Lydia nodded.

“Well then, let’s go down there and join your family. Get this resurrection spell done!”

Lydia nodded shyly as she and Betelgeuse phased through the floor to join all the adults in the living room, her eager to return to life.


	5. Fighting Chance

When both Lydia and Betelgeuse floated down into the living room, they found what they expected to find. Charles, Delia, Adam, and Barbara sitting in a circle around the Handbook and chanting something in Latin. Adam and Barbara turned their heads and looked up at Lydia’s ghost, smiled brightly, and winked, assuring her that everything was going to be alright in a few moments. 

Charles and Delia, who were sat facing the wall Lydia and Betelgeuse were floating in front of, looked up and smiled at Lydia’s ghost. She smiled back and the two living adults and two deceased adults went right back to what they were doing.

“Gah!” Barbara suddenly exclaimed. “We went ahead and broke our concentration! Now we have to start all over again!”

“Third time’s the charm,” Adam joked, smirking at Barbara. The latter giggled.

“Okay let’s try this again,” said Charles as he and the rest of the adults looked back down towards the Handbook for the Recently Deceased. 

“Nec qui mecum in Concordia ut producat amorem unum sumus ad vitam,” all four adults chanted. “In altera vita, futurum ut renascatur et ut diligatur iterum Prius moriatur!”

Both Lydia’s ghost and her body began to glow in unison and all four adults watched as her ghost drifted back into her body. The flash of light subsided and the teenager displayed her first sign of movement in her second life, sitting upright and rubbing her head.

“Did it... work?” was the first thing the teenager asked.

All the adults sported huge grins on their faces as they all rushed over and tackled the now laughing teenage girl to the ground as Betelgeuse watched in the background (half-phased through a wall). Lydia was immediately bombarded with hugs and questions from her family.

“Woah, guys. One question at a time. I only just came back to life.” 

“Questions after a super big hug from all of us,” reminded Barbara, winking knowingly. “Your first hug received in your second life.”

“Barb, that is hardly a milestone.”

“It’s a milestone to us.” Barbara ruffled Lydia’s hair and the teen relaxed at the touch. 

“What? Are you going to shower me with so much love it’s going to get super overwhelming for me in the near future?” lightly teased Lydia and her family shared a laugh. 

Betelgeuse wanted to leave them alone and head back to the Netherworld for a while as they all looked so happy being together and loving each other. But the biggest question was whether or not they would allow him to stay. If they did, then that was okay but if they didn’t, then that would be fine as well. He knew when he wasn’t welcome somewhere and he was most certainly unwelcome here.

“I think I’ll just go back to the Netherworld I’m not welcome here anyways,” he said, hoping that they didn’t hear him say that. But they did. The five of them all turned their heads towards him, all showcasing concerned and worried expressions on their faces.

“Nono, stay. We won’t mind. It will take some time for us to get used to you being around but,” Lydia began, looking to her family for back up.

“We are not letting him stay!” her dad barked, making both her and Betelgeuse pout at him. “Not after everything he did to us all!” 

“But dad, think of all the bad situations that could happen to us at certain points of the day that Betelgeuse could easily help us with with his powers. He’d be a great security system for the house!” complained Lydia.

“So would the Maitlands!” her dad said. “I know that you two are or were best friends with each other from what I’ve heard from the Maitlands earlier but he can’t stay here forever. You know that.”

“I’ll handle this,” said Barbara with a smile as she went over to where Lydia was standing (over near Betelgeuse) and placing an ice cold, comforting hand on the teenager’s shoulder (she was lucky enough to make herself solid before doing this as she knew her hand was going to phase through Lydia’s shoulder once again). “Lydia, sweetie, listen to me. while he would make a good security guard as well as Adam and I, I’m afraid I agree with your dad on this matter. He can’t stay or even live here.”

“You guys are no fun!” grumbled an annoyed Lydia sarcastically before lightening herself up. “But perhaps we can make some sort of arrangement?”

“We’re listening,” her dad said. 

“Well, I was thinking maybe he could come when summoned to the house sometimes,” Lydia began, all of her family raising their eyebrows in unison. “It would take some time to get used to him being around the house but it would be nice to get to know him better this way. Who knows, hidden under his evil exterior could be the nicest, sweetest, softest guy you’ll ever have the pleasure to meet!”

“Lydia,” her dad tried to say. Delia put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. 

“Nono, she’s right,” said Delia. “I believe in second chances and I believe we should give mr. Betelgeuse here a second chance. I agree with Lydia that he would make a great security system, as would the Maitlands. And it would be great to get to know him better. Remember, his mom was abusive and he needs someone to love him unlike her. He would be a great addition to the family and household.”

“Delia, honey-“

Adam and Barbara nodded in agreement to what Lydia and Delia had said, leaving Charles the only one undecided about all of this. Charles frowned, still not willing enough to let the demon stay with them.

“Ugh!!! Alright, fine! He can go to and from the Netherworld if he pleases! But he is only allowed to be summoned by us foremergencies and special occasions. And no funny business or I will change my mind about this. Do you understand me?” He jabbed his finger into the demon’s stomach area as he spoke that last sentence.

Nervously and in agreement, the demon nodded and Charles went to stand back over near Delia and Barbara. Though he was now giving Betelgeuse the stink eye as if he knew the demon would get into all sorts of mischief with Lydia in the coming days and months.

“Good! Welcome to the family, Betelgeuse.” The rest of the adults and Lydia wrapped their arms around the demon for his first real hug as a part of the family.

It was the happiest day ever to him and Lydia’s second first birthday. What could go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the last sentence in this chapter feels like a good ending but this story's far from over and there's still so much I want to cover. Quick question, do you guys want the story to cover Lydia 2.0's first month reborn or her first year? Leave your answers in the comments.


	6. Reminders

Betelgeuse was bored. And it had been an hour since Lydia had been brought back to life and he had been welcomed into the family. Everyone else had somewhere else to be at the moment, which meant he was on his own for now. Seriously? Being allowed to be part of the family and then being left all on your own to do nothing but laze about? Betelgeuse was starting to take it as the rest of the family was starting to change their minds about allowing him to be a part of the family.

"I hope you've not been bored for that long, bud." Betelgeuse looked up to find Lydia in the entranceway to the living room and smiling at him and he immediately became less bored than he had been. Hopefully now he could do something fun with Lydia. The teenager sat down next to Betelgeuse on the sofa and put a hand on his back, looking up at him with a friendly smile.

"Nah, I've just been feeling like everyone else is not giving me as much attention and love and care as I thought they would. Well all the adults. You care about me and am still my best friend, aren'tcha Lyds?"

Lydia nodded. "Duh! Did you really think our friendship was ever going to be broken? Even after you did a lot of things that hurt me and the rest of the family?"

"But- but you abandoned me to try and get your dead mom back," he stammered.

"And I regret doing that." Lydia looked down, not wanting to say what she was going to say next. "Nothing's ever going to bring her back, I know that now. I just have to keep looking forward to the future from now on and appreciate the family I have."

He suddenly stood up. "Wanna goof around like we did the past three days?"

"My dad said no funny business from you," Lydia reminded the demon. "Do you want him to change his mind about allowing you in the family?"

"No," said Betelgeuse, running upstairs.

"Beej!" Lydia sprinted up the stairs after him. "Where are you going?"

* * *

The Maitlands were in the middle of dusting the attic when Betelgeuse burst in followed by Lydia, who was out of breath. The Maitlands noticed this, Adam summoning Lydia a glass of water and Barbara sitting her down.

"Is there an issue, Lydia?" asked Barbara.

"Betelgeuse," she huffed. "He wants to do something chaotic and I keep trying to tell him that my dad's going to get mad at him and change his mind but he's not listening."

Barbara looked over at Betelgeuse, who was reaching up and trying to reach a can of paint at the moment. "Betelgeuse, she's right- what do you think you're doing with that can of paint? Put it back!"

Betelgeuse's hair became orange and he slowly slid the can of paint back onto the shelf where he'd found it. Barbara's yelling reminded him of the times his mother would yell at him for doing something wrong and he didn't like it, especially now.

"Betelgeuse, I'm-." Before Barbara could continue, he teleported away in a flash of bright light, leaving only Barbara, Lydia, and Adam staring at the spot in the attic where he'd recently just been. "Sorry?"

"I'll go down and see if he's okay in a bit," said Lydia, taking another sip of her water. "Right now, I want to talk to you guys. Get to know a little bit about you seeming as how we've only had very brief interactions within the last week."

"That's a great idea, Lydia! Now, where do I begin?"

* * *

Betelgeuse had teleported right back into Lydia’s bedroom whilst Delia was in there making Lydia’s bed. ‘Good,’ he thought to himself. He wanted to avoid Charles at the time, not wanting to make the grown living male mad. He hated when people got mad at him. It always reminded him of his mom.

“Betelgeuse? What a surprise.” Delia looked up when she heard him grunt, quickly focusing back on Lydia’s bed and finishing make it before going over to make sure he was okay. She had barely gotten to know or interact with the demon the past week and now was the time to change that. If he had a problem, which seemed to be likely, she was there to help him through it. “You got a problem?”

“Yeah. Barbara yelled at me. It reminded me of the countless times my mom would yell at me and it scared me.” Betelgeuse sniffed. Delia wrapped her arms around the demon and he shifted, resting his head on her shoulder.

“I’m guessing all those times your mom yelled at you were traumatic,” Delia guessed and Betelgeuse nodded. “We’ll talk to Barbara later and let her know about this. Try to lessen the amount of yelling in this household. I’m a woman for positive energy and I don’t particularly like negative energy. Less yelling at you should be good. ‘Kay?”

Betelgeuse nodded again and removed his head from Delia’s shoulder just as he heard Lydia shouting out “Beej!” so as to be careful not to accidentally say his name and send him back to the Netherworld.

“If you need anything else, I’ll be downstairs,” Delia said, leaving the room just as Lydia entered.

“Thought I’d find you here,” the teen said with a laugh. “Checked the roof and you weren’t there. I was so confused. The roof’s where you usually go when you feel sad. What caused the change?”

“Wait? How do you know the roof’s my usual sadness spot?” asked Betelgeuse, a little bit confused.

“Guess who overheard you lamenting about being invisible when they went out onto the roof to attempt suicide?” Lydia pointed at herself. “This girl!”

Betelgeuse was stunned. He’d been too caught up in attempting to get Lydia to say his name to summon him that he didn’t even stop to think that Lydia saying she could see him before hand literally meant that she could hear his sad song.

“You okay?” the teen asked.

“Yeah, I should be. Why?”

“You wanna talk about it?” Lydia pulled Betelgeuse over to her bed and sat the two of them down onto it. “Have some best friend bonding time?”

All Betelgeuse could think of doing was nodding. This was what he needed right now. Some bonding time with his bestest bud in the whole living world.


	7. Touch Base

"And then, my mom locked me in that room she always uses to punish those that cause trouble and/or break a Netherworld rule," continued Betelgeuse, Lydia listening with her eyes widened. "This one time, a ghost brought a living person they cared an awful lot about into the Netherworld and my mom got so mad, you can only imagine what happened to the living person."

"Ouch," said Lydia. "That's surprising. Though your mom didn't seem fussed that my dad and I, as living people, were in the Netherworld."

"Yet she showed up in this world to try and take you back there," Betelgeuse continued for Lydia, who nodded.

"That's right. And we're all incredibly thankful for you for riding in on that Sandworm of yours like a cowboy and having it devour her. See, that means we all still care about you. And thank you for the cowboy hat by the way. It's a nice gift."

"Do you still have it?"

"Yep! I snuck up here as quick as I could and put it in my closet, having just enough time to rush back downstairs and catch you hit that invisible barrier and fall backwards onto the floor."

"...."

"Betelgeuse, are you okay?" asked Lydia, looking slightly concerned as she tilted her head to the side. "You're kinda just blanking out there."

Betelgeuse, who had no idea he was blanking out all of a sudden, snapped back to reality and turned his attention onto Lydia, who had her hand resting on top of his shoulder and her light hazel brown eyes focused directly on him. With the look on her face, Betelgeuse almost mixed her up with Delia of all people. The look on her face was a look he'd seen Delia give him when the two of them had that super brief talk half an hour ago and he knew it when he saw it.

"H-huh? Oo-oh. Yeah, I'm fine. You have a look on your face that reminds me of a look Debra had on her face when she was talking to me and I almost thought you and her were the same person.... funny story? Am I right?" he asked.

Lydia seemed to snicker then adopted her signature frown. He'd seen her smile brightly when the rest of the family tackled her to the living room floor immediately after she came back to life. "Want to continue talking or do something else. I don't mind if you wanna do something else. It's fine. I have other things I have to be doing and..." She looked up suddenly and Betelgeuse saw a worried look on her face. "And I think that someone needs you in the Netherworld right now."

Betelgeuse looked up to find Miss Argentina looking at both him and Lydia and used a hand to motion for her to go back into the Netherworld, deciding that whatever it was that was important could wait until much much later. As soon as she was gone and the door was closed, Betelgeuse turned his attention back over towards Lydia and sighed. "Nah! It can wait. Whatever it is, it's probably not important enough to be dealt with now."

"She looked like she really needed you in the Netherworld right now though," said Lydia with a worried look. "You go and see what she wants. We can continue with our conversation later, 'Kay? I've got something important to discuss with the rest of the family that I don't think I want you here for. You don't mind, do you?"

"No," he finally said after a few long and boring minutes of silence shared between the two of them. "I guess not. Guess I'm going now. See you sometime soon, Scarecrow."

Lydia watched him get up, head through the same door Miss Argentina had peeked her head through, and left her bedroom to go and find the rest of her family.

She found them in the living room, chatting amongst each other and it sounded like they were all getting to know each other, which was a good sign to Lydia. It just felt so good, seeing all the adults in her life getting along and talking. She suddenly coughed, grabbing their attention and making them stop their conversation (in which they were in the middle of at the moment) to look over towards her. The four of them adopted smiles on their faces as Barbara scooted off to the side of the couch she and Adam were sitting on together (which was directly across from the couch Charles and Delia were sitting on together, mind you) to allow Lydia to sit down. Lydia smiled softly back at all of them as she walked over and sat down in between her ghost pals, leaning against Barbara.

"So, Lydia, sweetheart, where's Betelgeuse? I could have sworn I heard you two talking and having fun when I walked past your room after exiting my office," her dad said, looking a little confused.

"He's uh... he's in the Netherworld dealing with who knows what at the moment," the teen said. "The deceased beauty pageant winner we briefly met in the Netherworld poked her head through a door to the Netherworld in my bedroom and looked like she needed him so I told him to go there in order for me to come down here. That's all I have to say."

"Lydia, did you lie to him?" asked Barbara, raising an eyebrow.

"What? No. I would never. Why ask?" said Lydia.

“I was just wondering. Is there anything else you wanted to talk to us about that made you decide to come down here?” asked Barbara. “Actually,” she continued. “Why don’t you share a little bit about yourself. There’s a lot Adam, Delia, and I don’t know about you that we would like to know. If you don’t mind sharing, that is. You don’t have to if you don’t want to. We won’t mind at all.” Adam and Delia nodded in agreement.

“Actually, yeah. That sounds like fun.” Lydia smiled. “Where do I start? Aha! Did you guys know I used to be blonde?”

Adam, Barbara, and Delia shook their heads, their eyes wide with curiosity.

“No...!” exclaimed Barbara, deciding to say what the three adults were all thinking at the moment.

“Yeah!” continued Lydia with a chuckle. “Before my mom died of cancer, I had long blonde hair. It was a bit of a shame cutting it and dying it black just before her funeral but I don’t regret making that choice and I don’t plan on going back to having long blonde hair anytime soon. I like my hair the way it is now and nothing’s ever going to change that.”

“Aw, I kinda want to see you with blonde hair,” said Barbara with a curious, wondering glance directed towards Lydia, who was now resting her head against Adam’s shoulder. “Do you have any photo albums you can show us?”

Lydia nodded, motioning for her dad to go and find them. She couldn’t wait to see the Maitlands’ and Delia’s reactions to seeing pictures of her with long blonde hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Figured I'd get another chapter done today as I'm going to be busy trying to buy some broadway memorabilia off of eBay for the Broadway flea market tomorrow. Chapter release will pick up on Monday and a new chapter should be released every day from then on unless I have something else to do or I can’t think of any ideas for a new chapter.


	8. Memories and Meandering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry about not posting a new chapter yesterday. I was going to buy a bundle of Beetlejuice merchandise off of eBay yesterday and it turned out that it was raffle only. I probably won’t win it but I did get something better yesterday: a chance to talk to Beetlejuice lead actor Alex Brightman for one minute via video chat!!! Isn’t that exciting??? 
> 
> In other news: I just got a brand new baby cousin! I saw pictures and he’s so adorable. 😍
> 
> So anyways, onto the next chapter and comments and kudos are always appreciated. :).

Charles brought down the photo albums he had containing pictures of Lydia when she was younger and had long blonde hair instead of the black hair she had now. He set them down on the coffee table in front of them and Barbara immediately picked one up with her powers, opening it and flipping through it. Adam picked up another one the same way and began to do the same thing. Delia, wanting to get a better look, looked at the photo album that Barbara was looking at.

"Wow, Lydia," Barbara commented with a smile on her face. "You looked so adorable when you were a child. I do wonder why you got rid of that style. Is there a reason why?"

"Yeah," the teen said. "My mom had long blonde hair too. I figured that, if I kept it even after her death, it was going to remind me of her too much and that in itself was going to remind me too much of her, so I changed it a couple hours after her death and it's been like this ever since."

"You look better with blonde hair, and much more grown up," said Adam. "We won't mind if you go back to it or not. It's your choice."

"My hair's perfectly fine like this," Lydia said, leaning back and resting her hands behind her head. "I'm never going to change it."

Silently, Delia and the Maitlands nodded.

"Anyone want something to eat? It's almost dinnertime," Charles said once they were done with looking at the photo albums and he'd put them back where he was keeping them. He looked apologetically at the Maitlands.

"Nono, it's fine," said Barbara. "We'll just sit and chat with you while you guys eat your dinner. There are some things we'd like to know, like what life was like for you guys back in New York. That should be an interesting topic to talk about. Do you agree, Adam?"

"100 percent," replied the male ghost, giving Barbara a peck on the lips and then getting up from the couch. Lydia got up as well and headed up to her room whilst Barbara and Delia went to the kitchen to get a start on the dinner. Charles had gone back to his office for the time being, saying he had some work to do.

In Lydia's bedroom, the teenager flopped onto her bed and remained there laying on her stomach and face down. Memories of her mother played through her head: the time they planned that summer haunted house and Emily had tried to scare everyone by wearing a costume nobody thought was scary, the time she'd wandered away from her parents in a museum in New York when she was younger and it took Charles and Emily a while before they managed to locate her (she never wandered away from them in a museum ever again after that), and even the times when Emily would pretend to lose her keys and scream that they were being chased by a murderer whilst chasing after a giggling Lydia and laughing as well (that was one of Lydia's favorite games to play back when her mom was alive and they lived in New York. Nowadays it didn't seem that fun anymore).

'Maybe teach Barbara and Delia that game,' she thought out loud to herself, though she managed to keep her voice quiet so no one could hear her (little did she know that a certain demon was hiding in her closet, preparing to prank her). 'Barbara could pretend to be the murderer and Delia and I could pretend to be chased by-.'

"BOO!!!"

Lydia sat up and spun to face her closet just as Betelgeuse jumped into her field of view with the not-so-scariest face he could think of (Lydia thought even his scariest faces were funny rather than scary). He only reverted back to his normal face when he heard Lydia laughing louder than she did the last time he’d pulled this prank on her (when they were having that pillow fight after lunchtime). It amused and amazed him that she thought his faces were funny instead of scary and he vowed to amuse her forever for the amount of time they would get to know each other (which hopefully was eternity because Betelgeuse was going to remain in the Netherworld once Lydia, being the last to pass on (for real this time, not temporary) of old age.

“Beej, my best buddy, that was amusing. The next time you do this, can you do something super scary and super amusing. I want to see your scariest face ever imaginable,” said Lydia.

“Sure thing, scarecrow. Maybe before you go to bed,” he suggested.

“No. That wouldn’t just be amusing but would also give me nightmares. I’d like a peaceful night of sleep for once. Haven’t had one since my mom died due to all the nightmares I get of my mom. These past few days, the nightmares have expanded to include my mom and I in the Netherworld and her abandoning me. I’m very tired.” To emphasize on her last spoken sentence, the teenager yawned.

“If you’re tired now, you can just go to bed Y’know.”

“No,” replied Lydia, heading towards her door. “It’s almost dinnertime. I think you should stay here for now. We’ll talk some more when I’m done with dinner.”

“You could use some entertainment though. I’m sure Sexy and Babs would be more than happy to help me out with a few tricks I have planned.”

“Y’know What? That sounds like a good idea. I’ll talk to Adam and Barbara about it and see what they have to say. Stay up here until then. ‘Kay?”

Betelgeuse nodded in response as Lydia turned and left the room. Now all he had to do was wait for their answer. That couldn’t be too hard, right?

Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Question: have you managed to meet a Beetlejuice cast member via video chat during the coronavirus pandemic? If so, comment who.


	9. Silent Treatment

Lydia returned to her room with a smile on her face, finding Betelgeuse lounging on top of her bed and staring up at her ceiling. It didn't appear that he had noticed that she was there quite yet so she did the first thing she could think of to grab his attention.

"Yo, buddy, whatcha looking at my ceiling for?"

He sat up, his eyes focusing onto her. "What did they say?"

"They said that it was a good idea for you to provide us with some entertainment during dinner," replied Lydia with a smile. "They also said that they wanted to help you so that they could get a hang of their beginner ghost powers."

"I'll be happy to help them," replied Betelgeuse as he followed Lydia out of her bedroom and downstairs into the kitchen.

Lydia did not see the smirk on her best friend's face as he snapped his fingers and made the pot Barbara was currently stirring engulf into flames. The female ghost did not look happy, as she turned, glared, and softly growled at him. Betelgeuse turned towards the living room and spotted Charles standing there, eyeing him with his arms folded and he looked like he was shaking his head in disapproval. That's when Betelgeuse knew he had to stop. He snapped his fingers and the fire he'd started put itself out, confusing Barbara and relieving Charles of having to force the demon to leave.

"Never! Do! That! Again!" warned a cautious Barbara, standing with her back to the formerly flaming pot and not even noticing that a few of the flames had transferred from the pot to the back of her dress. She didn't even notice that everyone else was standing there and staring at her like something was wrong until she saw that her husband was pointing at her and trying not to snicker as he kept a straight face. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know if you have noticed this, honey, but your entire back is on fire," he pointed out to her.

"WHAT?!!" she focused hard and put out the fire that was her back before sighing in complete relief. Just imagine if she was still alive, that would have ended much differently than it did. It was times like this where she was thankful for dying early. "Ah. That's much bette-.”

BOOM!!!

“Betelgeuse just made the lights explode,” pointed out Adam, looking upwards.

Before Barbara could say anything in response, an angry Charles had stormed over towards the demon and was now backing him up against a wall with his fists clenched and shaking constantly. His face was red and his teeth were grit, his eyes narrowed and he looked a little fiery. Betelgeuse looked nervously at him, his hands up in front of him like he was sorry about what happened.

Charles softly growled out, “what did you do that for?”

“I... I, I?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself!” the grown living male spat.

“I was trying to impress everyone by doing something cool,” the demon stammered quietly as he tried to slip out of Charles’ view but the latter rested his hands on either side of the demon to prevent him from leaving the room.

“Do you really think making the lights in the kitchen is cool?” demanded Charles. “Now I’m going to have to spend a lot of money on a new set of lights. As a result of this, you are no longer welcome in this house.”

“Bu- but, I?”

“GO BACK TO THE NETHERWORLD NOW!!!”

“What if I didn’t want to? I’m already comfortable staying here,” said Betelgeuse.

Charles stopped to consider this for a moment then became angry at Betelgeuse once again, letting out a low growling noise as he raised his fist. Lydia gasped at this.

“Dad! Calm down!” shouted Lydia, running over towards her dad from where she had been standing in the living room and watching the whole thing with him and Betelgeuse with an equally worried Delia. “I’m sure he didn’t mean to do it.”

“STAY OUT OF THIS, LYDIA!” he shouted at his daughter. Then his eyes widened in shock when he realized what he’d done and he looked over towards Lydia, who was tearing up and being comforted by an equally worried Adam, Barbara, and Delia, all of whom were glaring in his direction, and adopted an apologetic look on his face. “Lydia, sweetie, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

Silently, the teen nodded.

“Let’s just try to have a peaceful dinner,” said a calm Delia, trying to lighten the mood of the household right now. “Put all this anger behind us, hmmm?”

The dinner they had that night was far from peaceful. Charles had been giving Betelgeuse the silent treatment and Betelgeuse had been doing the same thing. Being sat next to each other at the dining table, they were looking in opposite directions and sporting angry looks on their faces. Everyone else was nervous and not even Delia knew what to do except lead Charles away from the dinner table and upstairs after he’d finished his dinner to calm down from what happened earlier. Barbara and Adam went to clear the dishes once Lydia was done with her dinner and she and Betelgeuse went upstairs to hang out, with Lydia making sure to close her door so her dad wouldn’t know that Betelgeuse was up here and yell at him again and try to force him to go back to the Netherworld.

He sat on Lydia’s bed and she could see a look of sadness on his face. Sitting down next to him, she put a comforting hand on his shoulder and smiled up at him. He turned his head and smiled back before turning his attention back onto Lydia’s carpet.

“Why did your dad have to yell at me?” asked Betelgeuse glumly.

“Well, you did make the lights explode before dinner,” explained Lydia. “Remember, my dad said no funny business or he’d change his mind about letting you stay here.”

“And he’s totally right to do that,” replied Betelgeuse. “I should go back to the Netherworld. It is where I belong. No one wants me here.”

“No. Don’t say that,” said Lydia, a sad tone to her voice. She took Betelgeuse’s hand in hers and he turned to look at her again. “You can still stay here, bff. I’ll get my dad to not be angry at you again and fix things. It may take some time but I hope it works.”

Betelgeuse took some time to think about this before nodding and immediately falling asleep on Lydia’s bed. She laughed and poked him awake.

“Looks like we better get you up to the attic to hang out with the Maitlands, huh? That is what you want, right?”

With a smile, Betelgeuse nodded and allowed Lydia to take him up to the attic. Oh, he hoped and hoped.

Hoped Lydia would get her dad to not be angry at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you’re enjoying this story so far and comments and kudos are always appreciated. :).


	10. Talk it Out, Sort it Out

The next morning, after breakfast, and after telling Betelgeuse to go and hang out with the Maitlands, Lydia slowly made her way up to her dad's office (which was located away from all the bedrooms on the second floor of the house) with the sole purpose of asking her dad to forgive Betelgeuse for his actions the previous night. She began to fear the worst as she made her way down the second floor hallway towards her dad's office which was located behind two large wooden doors on the wall in front of her, that he would refuse to forgive Betelgeuse and none of them would ever see the demon again.

Taking a deep breath, she waited for her dad to open the door for her. After a few long and boring minutes, the door opened and Charles let his daughter in.

"Is there something you needed, sweetheart?" he asked as soon as Lydia sat down.

"Yeah," the teen said with a nod. "Dad, can we talk?"

"Sure," he replied. "What about?"

"It's about Betelgeuse." Charles' face grew red at the mention of the name and Lydia flinched when he slammed his hands against his desk. "He's still upset about you yelling at him last night for the exploding lights incident."

“Well, he has every right to,” replied Charles, looking sternly at his daughter. “He knew what he was getting into when he set fire to Barbara’s back and made the lights explode. I told him no funny business. And what does he do? Go against that rule!”

“I’m sure he didn’t mean to. Adam and Barbara said that it was okay for him to provide us entertainment for dinner last night. I guess they didn’t mean the type of entertainment he did provide us last night. Don’t you think it was amusing seeing Barbara not realize that she was on fire?”

“I was too busy getting mad at Betelgeuse to point that out, but I’m glad Adam did,” said Charles, calming down a bit.

“Still, you can’t force him to go back to the Netherworld permanently. The least you can do is allow him to come and go as he pleases,” said Lydia, causing her dad to think it over for a little while. “And an apology might do,” she continued. “We all know that he needs one from you.”

“Lydia, you’re starting to sound like Delia,” Charles laughed.

“Dad!”

“Okay, okay.” He stopped with his laughing and adopted a serious look on his face again.

“Want me to go upstairs and get him? Bring him down here so you can apologize quickly and we can get this whole situation sorted out? You can’t just give him the silent treatment forever, y’know?”

Silently, Charles nodded and Lydia exited his office, rushing upstairs to the attic, where she knew Betelgeuse was.

She pushed open the door to the attic and entered, expecting to find Betelgeuse and the Maitlands somewhere in the attic. But there wasn’t any sign of them anywhere. She made her way over towards the window that led out to the roof and found it open, meaning that all three deceased were outside on the roof. Lydia sighed quietly to herself and climbed out onto the roof.

“There you guys are,” she said when she found her deceased friends standing over by the edge of the roof and leaning over the railing, looking down towards the ground.

Adam and Barbara had their hands on a sobbing, blue-haired Betelgeuse and the three jumped in surprise when they heard her voice. Lydia had to laugh. She’d heard of ghosts jump-scaring the living but not the other way around. She had to do this as a joke more often. Especially with Betelgeuse. It would make for a great prank in the near future. If, and only if, her dad would allow it.

“Lyds, you scared us!” exclaimed Barbara in delight as she and both males turned to face her all the while keeping themselves from laughing at the fact that Lydia managed to scare them. Lydia saw a proud smile cross Betelgeuse’s face. A smile that meant he knew she was learning from the best, or had learned from the best.

“Yeah,” the teen replied. “There wasn’t any sign of you in the attic so I knew to check out here. Seeming as how Betelgeuse is out here and looking sad. I should do this scaring you guys thing more often. With some helpful tips from Betelgeuse of course.”

“Hey?” Barbara suddenly had a thought. “Want us to scare your dad and Delia later on? I can assure you that they won’t be expecting this. It’ll give them the fright of their lives. It’s going to be our best prank yet.”

“I’m always up for doing something like that,” said Lydia with a smirk. “As long as we don’t do it to scare them out of the house this time around. What’s on your mind?”

“We could trick them into thinking you died again,” suggested Barbara, earning an amused laugh from Lydia. “I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces when they realize that it’s all but a prank we pulled on them.”

“Heh heh,” Lydia fake laughed. “I can’t either.”

“What’s the real reason you came up here to find us?” asked Adam, deciding to change the subject.

“I managed to convince my dad to forgive Betelgeuse for the incidents he caused before dinner last night,” said Lydia, looking from Adam, to Barbara, to Betelgeuse and back to Adam. “I kinda need him to come down to my dad’s office with me so that he can forgive him.”

“But what if he doesn’t really want to forgive me?” lamented Betelgeuse, looking glumly over at Lydia, a lighter blue appearing in a few strands of his already bright blue hair. “What if he’s still angry at me?”

“I assure you he’s not.” Lydia grabbed a hold of Betelgeuse’s hand and began to lead Betelgeuse back into the attic so they could go and Betelgeuse could be forgiven for everything he did. Before she fully climbed through the window, she turned to look over towards the Maitlands and shouted out, wait for us in the living room and we can go over our plans to prank my dad and Delia in fifteen minutes, okay?!”

“Okay!” the Maitlands shouted back.

With that, Lydia gave them a smile and led Betelgeuse back inside to apologize to her dad.


	11. Prank or be Pranked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to do another chapter today as I got an idea or two for this one. Anyway, I hope you enjoy and comments and kudos are always appreciated. :).

As expected, Charles did forgive Betelgeuse for all the trouble he had caused the previous night. Fifteen minutes had passed, and, as promised, the Maitlands were already waiting for Lydia and Betelgeuse to join them so they could go over the details of their plan to scare Charles and Delia into thinking Lydia had died again (it would be their best prank ever pulled, a close second to the possession Adam and Barbara had put Charles, Delia, and their dinner party guests through almost four days ago with Lydia's help), sitting on the couch together and chatting about some early details for their plan.

Eventually, Lydia came running down the stairs at full speed, dragging Betelgeuse behind her and nearly falling as she jumped off the last step. Adam and Barbara teleported over to her, steadied her and Betelgeuse and teleported themselves and Lydia and Betelgeuse back into the living room. Lydia plonked herself onto the couch and Betelgeuse took a seat on the floor in front of her whilst the Maitlands took a seat on either side of Lydia and the four of them began to discuss their plans on how to prank Charles and Delia.

"So, do you think that this is actually going to work, Barb? What if my dad and Delia don't fall for it and my dad gets angry all over again?" asked Lydia, looking a little bit concerned about their current plans. Noticing that she was beginning to sweat rapidly, in an attempt to calm her down and reassure her, Barbara put a hand on Lydia's shoulder and the teenager looked up at her, stopped sweating, and smiled. She was still worrying that this wasn't going to work and began to breathe heavily, leading to Barbara rubbing gentle circles into her back.

"Calm down, Lydia," she encouraged. "Take slower, calmer breaths."

She did so and soon was calm. Then they went right back to discussing their plans.

"Of course it's going to work," replied Barbara as she moved her arm and rested it around Lydia's shoulder. "I can already tell."

"How come?"

"Ghost senses," laughed Barbara and Lydia let out an adorable giggle that the Maitlands were sure they'd never heard from her before. "So, how should we go about it?"

"I say we create an illusion of Lydia reliving her death when she gave up her soul to free me from being stuck in this house and make it look real," suggested Betelgeuse with a simple shrug.

"No, they won't buy it, Beej," said Lydia. "They're so upset about it happening once before that they can easily tell it's faked. Adam, Barbara, you guys got any better ideas?"

"How about you lay on the floor and we pretend to be upset, Lydia," suggested Adam. Lydia looked at her ghost dad with a wide smile and gave him a nod and a thumbs up. Now, that plan might actually work, unlike a certain demon's create an illusion of Lydia's death giving up her soul plan.

"That sounds like an even better idea," said Barbara, patting her husband on the back. "But how are we going to go about it?"

"Easy, first Lydia lies on the floor, stops moving, and ceases breathing when we hear Charles and Delia coming down the stairs and then Betelgeuse has to make a pool of blood appear around Lydia to make it look realistic. That should be enough to freak them out.”

“Speaking of which, I hear Charles and Delia coming down the stairs right now,” explained a panicking Adam.

“Quick, everyone, get into position,” ordered Barbara quickly and quietly. Lydia laid herself down on the floor and ceased with her movements and breathing, sticking her tongue out and closing her eyes for extra measure. Betelgeuse snapped his fingers and a pool of blood appeared around Lydia. Then he hid behind one of the comfy chairs with Adam and Barbara as the three of them waited for the living couple to enter the living room. They couldn’t wait to see their reactions.

Sure enough, Charles and Delia entered the living room and stopped to stare at the scene in front of them, freaking out. It just looked so realistic (they didn’t know it wasn’t quite yet). As soon as they heard snickering behind one of the chairs, they both immediately knew that something was up and Charles put his hands on his hips and smiled whilst Delia rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“Okay, you guys.” Charles laughed once hysterically. “The jig is up. What’s going on?”

“Aw, you caught us.” Barbara pouted as she, Adam, and Betelgeuse stepped out from behind the chair and Lydia sat up, covered in some of the blood that Betelgeuse had summoned to make it look real. “We were trying to prank you.”

“Guess it didn’t work out quite exactly how we had it planned,” continued Adam, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head with his hand.

“Yeah.” Charles sighed, resting a hand against his forehead to regain himself. “Guess it didn’t. But now we need to talk about this. What made you decide to do all this?”

“Well, we - I had this idea when Lydia came out to the roof to find us,” said Barbara. “It just popped into my head and we all decided to go through with it. It was originally intended to make you freak out a lot but I’m surprised that it didn’t happen the way it was supposed to. Heh.”

“Well, the next time you try to prank us, try to do something better than making us believe Lydia died a second time.” Lydia, the Maitlands, and Betelgeuse nodded in unison. “Delia and I have to go out for a while, important stuff that I’m not allowed to talk about with you guys. Maitlands, promise us you’ll keep a watchful eye on Lydia until we get back, okay?”

The Maitlands nodded.

“You can count on us, Charles!” said Barbara.

“Great!” He smiled. “And Lydia, try not to cause chaos with Betelgeuse. We don’t want to come home to a messy house.”

Lydia nodded.

Charles nodded in response and he and Delia left, talking to one another. Smiles crossed Adam’s and Barbara’s faces when they heard Delia say, “she loves them as much as she loves us, Charles. She’ll behave for them. I know she will,” from the hallway.

“So?” Adam asked, turning to Lydia as Charles and Delia left the house. “What should we do to pass the time until they get back?”

“Well, I was thinking-.”


	12. Call Me Lydia 2.0

"I'M BEING CHASED BY A MURDERER!!!" Lydia screamed as she ran down the upstairs hallway of the house.

Her first idea had been to play this old game, the one she used to play with her mother back when she was still alive and Lydia was young, with Adam, Barbara, and Betelgeuse. Right now, Betelgeuse was pretending to be the murderer and Lydia was laughing as she tried to get away from him. Adam and Barbara had both been tasked with hiding downstairs, and pretending they were still alive, so they didn't get caught. Lydia was surprised at how fast her deceased friends picked up on the rules of the game, considering this was their first time playing it. The last round had been Adam's turn as the murderer and he was as good as Barbara was the first round where she pretended to be the murderer.

"I've almost caught ya!" Betelgeuse teased, and Lydia looked at him and let out a chuckle.

"I seriously doubt it!" she teased back.

Betelgeuse was close to catching up to Lydia when the teen made the quick decision to speed downstairs and hide with Adam and Barbara so they would make it difficult for Betelgeuse to win this round. Upstairs, Betelgeuse grunted and stomped his feet then teleported up to the attic.

Half an hour had passed and Lydia and the Maitlands were starting to feel like something was wrong. They were sure Betelgeuse would be downstairs and trying to locate them by now but the demon in question was nowhere in sight and the house had since grown unusually quiet. Slowly and surely, the three of them came out from their hiding place behind the couch, Adam first, then Barbara, and finally Lydia. They looked around the bottom floor of the house for a few minutes then went to sit on the couch for a while.

"Does anyone know where Betelgeuse may be right now?" questioned Adam, looking from Barbara to Lydia. Both females shrugged in unison and Adam sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "The house being unusually quiet is a bit worrisome. I'm starting to get worried he thinks we don't want to play anymore."

"Yeah," said Barbara, turning to her husband and resting an arm around his shoulder. "Do you think we should check on him?"

"It's best we leave him alone to calm down for now," said Adam. "He'll come downstairs if he wants to."

In agreement, Barbara and Lydia nodded.

"What else should we do?" asked Lydia, looking from Adam to Barbara with a curious look on her face. Both ghosts looked at each other and stayed quiet for a while, making Lydia even more curious. "What? Are you guys having a telepathic conversation with each other? You guys are super quiet."

"Well, we are and that's something we didn't know we could do," admitted Barbara, letting out a laugh. "We'll have to consult the Handbook Betelgeuse gave you that you handed over to us once we completely deem it not to be dangerous and/or ask Betelgeuse more about our powers."

"Or you could try to have a telepathic conversation with me," suggested Lydia. "We could make a game out of it."

"No," said Adam sternly, earning a pout from Lydia. "Not yet at least. We haven't mastered it quite yet and we should wait until we do so to make games out of our powers. Though I don't think that's what ghost powers are intended for."

"Hey! You're talking to the teenage girl who briefly lost her life giving up her soul to free Betelgeuse, didn't get to use a single one of her powers, and then was brought back to life and given the opportunity to live a second life."

"You know what, Lydia," said Barbara with a realizing smile. "You're just like us. Coming out of your shell and becoming someone completely different from your old self. You're not the same Lydia we met at the beginning of the week, you're a different version of the same person."

"Call me Lydia 2.0 then!" Lydia said out of determination, standing up and pumping her fist in the air. "I may still be the same old, same old Lydia but I've changed now and I'm proud of it. You guys have helped me learn to appreciate life and live it to the fullest. I love how my life is now and there's nothing I want to change about it. I want to continue living life and appreciating all the changes that happened in the last few months. There's nothing I could ever ask for more than living a second life with you guys, my dad, Delia, and Betelgeuse. I love you all and nothing's ever going to change that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is the end, I guess. This story was going to be longer but I feared I was going to get a serious writer's block if this story kept going. I have to say I'm proud of the direction this story took and I look forward to writing more about this AU in the near future. That is, if you want a sequel to this story (comment yes if you do). 
> 
> Goodbye for now and, if a sequel is planned to come out, keep a look out for it.


End file.
